L.J. headed into Como to return the rental car early this morning. My toe was not behaving very well and so I took the day to let it rest.

Barry had a convention meeting this morning and then afterwards, I met him and Brenda for lunch at the other lunch spot we had enjoyed this week. We had sandwiches and gelato. There is only an “after” shot as we weren’t quite on our food game at lunch.

L.J. took advantage of the time he had in Como to do a little more sightseeing.

L.J. rode the Funicolare (funicular) in Como for a great overview of the city.

He rode the ferry back. He stood in line for a ticket for almost 45 minutes as he also tried to purchase a ticket on the app so of course, two people before he made it to the counter, the app ticket purchase went through and he confirmed with customer service that he was good to go. Then he enjoyed a great trip back to our ferry stop where all three of us were able to see him get off the boat!

The entire reason Italy was on the vacation list this year was because of the NTMA’s 100th Anniversary this year. My brother Barry works for Manhattan American Terrazzo Strip Company which makes divider strips and custom designs for terrazzo flooring. They are a member of the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association (NTMA) and the association is celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year. Every ten years their annual convention is held in Italy. When Barry and Brenda were originally planning their trip they asked L.J. if he would help in the planning and as they continued to discuss, they asked us to join us on the trip and we agreed. Italy was always on the bucket list so this just helped move it up on the calendar. Tonight was the Dinner & Awards so now it was time to get ready!

The NTMA provided bus transportation to Como for the festivities. The Honor Awards Dinner was at the Teatro Sociale Como.

For the Honor Awards Presentation, we went downstairs to the Opera House. It was absolutely stunning! It was exciting to see several of the projects that Barry’s company had either provided strip or designs for be recognized.

It was raining as we left and the trip back to Moltrasio was interesting. Just remember, narrow roads and now add in dark and rainy and we’re in a large bus. As we were almost to the hotel, there was not room for us and the vehicle that was going in the opposite direction so that car had to back up, and the car that was behind it! Fortunately, we made it safely back and this would wrap up our time in Como. Tomorrow we will head back to Milan for the final portion of our trip in Italy.